familypediawikiaorg-20200214-history
April 21
Events *753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional). * 43 BC - Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Although Antony fails to capture Mutina, Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly afterwards. *1509 - Henry VIII ascends the throne of England (unofficially) at the death of his father, Henry VII *1792 - Tiradentes, a revolutionary who was leading a movement for Brazil's independence, is hanged and quartered. *1836 - Texas Revolution: Battle of San Jacinto – Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. *1863 - Bahá'u'lláh declares his mission as "He whom God shall make manifest". Considered the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. *1894 - Norway formally adopts the Krag-Jørgensen rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years. *1898 - Spanish-American War: The U.S. Congress, on April 25, recognizes that a state of war exists between the United States and Spain as of this date. *1918 - World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France. *1930 - A fire at a penitentiary in Columbus, kills 320 people. *1944 - Women in France receive the right to vote. *1945 - World War II: Soviet Union forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters. *1952 - Secretary's Day (now Administrative Professionals' Day) is first celebrated. *1960 - Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially inaugurated. At 9:30 am the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro. * 1960 - Founding of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith in Washington. *1962 - The Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World's Fair in the U.S. since World War II. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/worldsfair/ *1963 - The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í faith is elected for the first time. *1965 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens for its second and final season. *1966 - Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day. *1967 - A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d'état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years. *1970 - The Hutt River Province Principality secedes from Australia *1975 - Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu flees Saigon, as Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls. *1982 - Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves. *1987 - The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that explodes in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, killing 106 people. *1989 - Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang. *1994 - The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan. Births *1555 - Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter (d. 1619) *1651 - Blessed Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (d. 1711) *1652 - Michel Rolle, French mathematician (d. 1719) *1671 - John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729) *1713 - Louis, Marshal of France (d. 1793) *1729 - Empress Catherine II of Russia (d. 1796) *1767 - Elisabeth of Württemberg, Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1790) *1774 - Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (d. 1862) *1775 - Alexander Anderson, American illustrator (d. 1870) *1810 - John Putnam Chapin, American politician (d. 1864) *1811 - Alson Sherman, American politician (d. 1903) *1814 - Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, English philanthropist (d. 1906) *1816 - Charlotte Brontë, English author (d. 1855) *1837 - Fredrik Bajer, Danish politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1922) *1838 - John Muir, American environmentalist (d. 1914) *1851 - Charles Barrois, French geologist (d. 1939) *1864 - Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920) *1870 - Edwin S. Porter, American film pioneer (d. 1941) *1879 - Kartini, Indonesian national figure (d. 1904) *1882 - Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1961) *1887 - Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (d. 1978) *1889 - Paul Karrer, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971) *1896 - Henry de Montherlant, French novelist and essayist (d. 1972) *1905 - Pat Brown, American politician (d. 1996) *1911 - Ivan Combe, American inventor (d. 2000) *1912 - Marcel Camus, French film director (d. 1982) *1914 - Norman Panama, American screenwriter (d. 2003) *1915 - Anthony Quinn, Mexican-born actor (d. 2001) *1919 - Don Cornell, American singer (d. 2004) *1920 - Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d. 1991) * 1920 - Ronald Magill, British actor (d. 2007) *1922 - Alistair MacLean, Scottish author (d. 1987) *1923 - John Mortimer, English barrister and writer *1926 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom *1927 - Gerald Flood, British actor (d. 1989) *1930 - Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989) *1932 - Elaine May, American comedian *1935 - Charles Grodin, American actor * 1935 - Thomas Kean, former Governor of New Jersey and 9/11 Commission Chairman *1936 - James Dobson, American evangelist *1938 - Ernie Maresca, American singer, songwriter and record executive *1939 - Helen Prejean, American writer *1944 - Adrian Hurley, Australian basketball coach *1945 - Diana Darvey, British actress, singer and dancer (d. 2000) *1947 - Iggy Pop, American musician (The Stooges) * 1947 - John Weider, British rock musician (Eric Burdon and the Animals, Family) *1948 - Gary Condit, American politician * 1948 - Paul Davis, American singer *1949 - Patti Lupone, American singer and actress *1951 - Tony Danza, American actor and comedian * 1951 - Michael Hartley Freedman, American mathematician * 1951 - Robert Gotobed, English drummer (Wire) * 1951 - Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player *1954 - James Morrison, American actor * 1954 - Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer *1956 - Phillip Longman, American demographer *1958 - Edward Leslie, American professional wrestler * 1958 - Andie MacDowell, American actress * 1958 - Michael S. Zarnock, American author/columnist/Guinness World Record Holder *1959 - Gene Callahan, American writer * 1959 - Robert Smith, British musician (The Cure) * 1959 - Jerry Only, American musician (The Misfits) * 1959 - Michael Timmins, Canadian musician (Cowboy Junkies) *1960 - Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player *1962 - Les Lancaster, American baseball player *1963 - Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (d. 2004) * 1963 - Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor * 1963 - John Cameron Mitchell, American film director *1964 - Ludmila Engquist, Russian-born Swedish athlete * 1964 - Alex Baumann, Canadian Olympic swimmer *1965 - Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player * 1965 - Karen Foster, American model (Playboy) *1966 - Michael Franti, American musician *1969 - Robin Meade, American reporter *1970 - Rob Riggle, American comedian * 1970 - Nicole Sullivan, American actress *1971 - Eric Mabius, American actor * 1971 - Michael Turner, American comic book artist *1972 - Severina Vučković, Croatian singer * 1972 - Gwendal Peizerat, French ice dancer *1977 - Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater *1978 - Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer (Nightwish) * 1978 - Branden Steineckert, American drummer (Rancid, formerly of The Used) *1979 - Doseone, American rapper * 1979 - James McAvoy, Scottish actor *1980 - Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player * 1980 - Tony Romo, American football player *1981 - Stephanie Larimore, American model *1982 - Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, American football player *1983 - Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer *1984 - Eric Devendorf, American basketball player *1986 - Audra Cohen, American tennis player * 1986 - Alexander Edler, Swedish hockey player *1988 - Pedro Mosquera, Spanish footballer * 1988 - Robbie Amell, Canadian actor *2007 - Princess Isabella of Denmark Deaths *748 - Empress Genshō of Japan (b. 680) *1073 - Pope Alexander II *1109 - Anselm of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury *1142 - Pierre Abélard, French writer (b. 1079) *1329 - Frederick IV (b. 1282) *1509 - King Henry VII of England (b. 1457) *1551 - Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510) *1557 - Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (b. 1495) *1574 - Cosimo I de' Medici (b. 1519) *1699 - Jean Racine, French dramatist (b. 1639) *1701 - Asano Naganori, Japanese warlord (b. 1667) *1719 - Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and historian (b. 1640) *1720 - Antoine Hamilton, French writer (b. 1646) *1722 - Robert Beverley, historian of Colonial Virginia (b. 1673) *1792 - Tiradentes, Brazilian revolutionary (b. 1746) *1793 - John Michell, English seismologist (b. 1724) *1815 - Joseph Winston, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina (b. 1746) *1825 - Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathemattician (b. 1765) *1852 - Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787) *1868 - Henry James O'Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh *1910 - Mark Twain, American author and humorist (b. 1835) *1918 - Manfred von Richthofen, German pilot (b. 1892) *1924 - Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858) *1930 - Robert Bridges, English poet (b. 1844) *1938 - Allama Iqbal, Indian philosopher and poet (b. 1877) *1945 - Walter Model, German field marshal (b. 1891) *1946 - John Maynard Keynes, English economist (b. 1883) *1956 - Charles MacArthur, American writer (b. 1895) *1965 - Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892) *1971 - François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Haitian dictator (b. 1907) *1973 - Arthur Fadden, thirteenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894) *1977 - Gummo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1892) *1978 - Sandy Denny, British vocalist (b. 1947) * 1978 - Thomas Wyatt Turner, American civil rights advocate and agricultural engineer (b. 1877) *1980 - Aleksandr Oparin, Russian biochemist (b. 1894) * 1980 - Sohrab Sepehri, Persian poet and painter (b. 1928) *1983 - Walter Slezak, Austrian actor (b. 1902) *1985 - Rudi Gernreich, Austrian fashion designer (b. 1922) * 1985 - Tancredo de Almeida Neves, Brazil banker and elected president (b. 1910) * 1985 - Foster Hewitt, Canadian radio pioneer (b. 1902) *1986 - Salah Jaheen, Egyptian poet and cartoonist (b.1930) *1989 - Princess Dukhye of Korea (b. 1912) *1990 - Erté, French artist (b. 1892) *1991 - Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909) *1996 - Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (b. 1944) * 1996 - Jimmy the Greek, American bookie and sports broadcaster (b. 1919) *1999 - Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, American actor and musician (b. 1904) *2000 - Neal Matthews, American singer (b. 1929) *2003 - Nina Simone, American singer and pianist (b. 1933) *2004 - Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918) *2005 - Gerry Marshall, British racing driver (b. 1941) *2006 - Telê Santana, Brazilian football manager (b. 1931) * 2006 - T.K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922) *2007 - Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist and songwriter (b. 1941) Holidays and observances * Bahá'í Faith - First day of the festival of Ridván. * Roman Empire - the Parilia was held in honor of Pales. * Rome - city birthday. * Tiradentes - Brazil. * Grounation Day in Rastafari movement. * San Jacinto Day - Texas state holiday. * Aggie Muster at Texas A&M University. * Kartini Day - Indonesia Liturgical feasts *Holy Infant of Good Health *Saint Abdecalas *Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury *Saint Anastasius I *Saint Konrad von Parzham *Saint Wolbodo External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:April